It takes a true adventurer to investigate the secrets of wagashi sweets, Japan’s most beautiful confectionery. The traditional sweets come in all shapes and sizes, as their creators draw inspiration from unique sights offered by the changing seasons. Walking around his hometown Kyoto and all over Japan, Hajime Nakamura looks for visual connections between the creative confectioneries and the country’s natural sights.

From a outside perspective, wagashi sweets can be a bit too subtle to decipher. Not many are able to appreciate the fine choices in color that point to a budding flower, or a watery texture that may suggest Japan’s rainy summer. But once Nakamura displays the two images side by side, the unseen relationship becomes easy to grasp .

Nakamura’s latest findings are available on his personal blog, but his most striking pictures are to be found in his recently-published book, Wagashi.